Purdue University athletic director Morgan Burke hands Darrell Hazell a cap Wednesday as Hazell is introduced as new head football coach.

On Wednesday night, when Darrell Hazell was introduced as Purdue's new football coach, everything seemed a bit brighter for a Boilermaker program struggling to find itself in recent years.

What wasn't to like?

Hazell projected energy. He sounded confident. And he was straightforward about why he believed he was ready to come from Kent State, a Mid-American Conference school, to help juice a mid-pack Big Ten program.

Hazell didn't make a lot of promises as he took over for Danny Hope, who was fired after four seasons as the Boilermakers' head coach.

But the expectations were right next to him, courtesy of athletic director Morgan Burke, seated just to his right.

"I told him, I want to go back to Pasadena. That's what I told you guys two weeks ago," Burke said, nodding toward the assembled media. "I want to go back to Pasadena."

Hazell's response about a Big Ten championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl? "That's what it's all about," he said, "and we're going to do it the right way."

The pressure is implied for Hazell. Two years of scraping out .500 seasons and going to leftover bowls hasn't ignited any fire, let alone ticket sales, among the fan base. The scene at Ross-Ade Stadium was particularly barren, with the silver and gold benches reflecting late autumn sun because fans either didn't show up or left early during a few lopsided losses.

Those empty seats on a Saturday afternoon meant Purdue was leaving a lot of money on the table.

Burke has been frank as he looked at Hope's salary, which at $950,000 was the lowest among head coaches in the Big Ten. The median salary for head coaches in the Big Ten was $2.1 million for the 2012 season. He was willing to fork over average coaching pay to get better results - both in the wins column and at the gate.

So Purdue broke tradition - and the bank in the process - to give Hazell his six-year contract. The terms haven't been shared, yet. But the salary has been reported in the $2 million range.

Will it be worth it? Can Hazell win games and sell the program in a way that hasn't been done since Drew Brees was blowing up coach Joe Tiller's basketball on grass back in the late-'90s and early-2000s?